1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to jewelry clasps of the type used in jewelry such as bracelets and necklaces to secure the jewelry to the wearer.
2. Description of Background Information
Virtually all necklaces and bracelets are secured to the wearer by means of a clasp. One of the most popular clasps in use in recent years has been the clasp described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,809, the description of which is hereby incorporated by reference thereto. A modified version of the clasp is generally depicted in FIG. 1. The invention relates to improvements generally, and is illustrated by way of example only with reference to the clasp shown in the drawings.
As seen in FIG. 1, clasp 11 comprises male and female members 13 and 15 respectively. Male member 12 is in the form of a tongue having an upstanding wall 17 integral with folded leaf spring 19. Upstanding wall 17 is generally formed from the same blank as the leaf spring. Although elements 17, 18 and 19 are normally formed from a single blank, if desired element 19 can be separately secured to element 18. An upstanding press button 21 is provided on the leaf spring so as to allow for compression thereof as desired.
Male member 13 is inserted within opening 23 of female member 11. The opening is generally configured in a manner such that the leaf spring of the male member fits therein. The opening may be provided with an extended base portion 25 configured to accommodate the base 18 of the leaf spring. Leaf spring 19 itself is accommodated within opening portion 27 while press button 21 slides through slit portion 29. Upon insertion of the leaf spring into opening 23 upstanding portion 19 of the leaf spring is initially compressed slightly and then expands after the rear end of the leaf spring has fitted within opening 23. This expansion of the leaf spring locks the clasp shut. Expansion of the leaf spring results in push button 21 protruding out of slit 29 such that it is accessible to the user. The button protrudes sufficiently such that the exertion of pressure on button 21 sufficiently depresses the upstanding portion 19 of the leaf spring to permit removal of the male member 13 from female member 15. Jewelry such as a bracelet or necklace has each of its ends secured to upstanding member 17 and end wall 31 of female member 15 in a manner not shown.
While such a clasp has proven extremely useful for many years, the increased cost of gold has pressured manufacturers to use less and less gold both in jewelry generally, and clasps in particular. Attempts to reduce the amount of gold used, necessarily result in reduced wall thicknesses. While female member 15 is in a sense naturally reinforced by means of its box-like structure, upstanding wall member 17 of male member 13 is normally not reinforced. Thus, reduced wall thickness results in an ability of the male member to withstand the "pull" exerted by heavier jewelry such as gold necklaces and the like. This pulling ultimately results in a bending and breaking of the wall member, which in turn results in loss of the item.
If an attempt is made to overcome the above disadvantage by using a greater wall thickness, this results in a larger opening being necessary in the female clasp member. Such an opening weakens the female member and is not possible with smaller models.